DeepSeek R1
DeepSeekReasoning ModelOpen SourceDeepSeek's reasoning model rivaling OpenAI o1. Uses chain-of-thought for complex math, science, and coding. Fully open source.
Abilities
Use Cases
Available in Tools
Availability
How to Use
Pros
- Only fully open-source reasoning model — MIT license on both base and reasoning variants
- Competitive with OpenAI o1 on AIME, MATH, and coding benchmarks
- Distilled versions (1.5B–70B) can run locally — bring reasoning to edge devices
- Very affordable API at $0.55/1M input — fraction of o3 pricing
- Transparent chain-of-thought reasoning — full reasoning trace visible
Cons
- Significantly slower than non-reasoning models — adds 10-60s to each response
- Full model requires same massive compute as DeepSeek V3 for self-hosting
- Distilled versions lose significant reasoning capability vs full model
- Same Chinese data jurisdiction concerns as DeepSeek V3
- Can produce very long, verbose reasoning traces that consume many tokens
What to Use It For
Perfect For
5x cheaper than o3 while delivering competitive results on AIME and MATH benchmarks
Only fully open-source reasoning model with MIT license — enables studying and improving reasoning techniques
Distilled variants (1.5B-70B) bring chain-of-thought reasoning to edge devices and laptops
Good For
Chain-of-thought reasoning excels at complex algorithmic problems and tricky bugs
Step-by-step reasoning traces are well-suited for constructing and verifying mathematical proofs
Not Recommended
Responses take 10-60 seconds due to internal reasoning steps — far too slow for interactive use
Try instead: GPT-4o
Massive overkill — wastes tokens and time on reasoning when a simple model would answer instantly
Try instead: DeepSeek V3
Do Not Use For
Chinese jurisdiction makes it unsuitable for organizations with strict Western data compliance requirements
Try instead: o3
Reasoning model not designed for conversation — produces overly analytical responses instead of natural chat
Try instead: Claude Opus 4